Back to school season brings an avalanche of paperwork for parents. Lunch menus, permission slips, fundraisers, newsletters...it's easy for important information to get lost in the shuffle. The following tips will help you tame the paper tiger.
- Establish a single spot for "important" daily papers. This can be a basket on the kitchen counter, a wall pocket or a portable hanging folder file. Depositing papers is a perfect chore for preschoolers, who crave order and want to feel like "big kids." September is the perfect time to establish this habit. (And take heart: even if you don't follow any of the other organizational tips below, having all this paper in one place will make it relatively easy to dig things up in a pinch.)
- Put a folder inside your child's backpack to ferry papers to and from school. If you have several children, give them different colors. This protects the papers and keeps them together.
- Check the paperwork every night. Cull things that can be recycled and act on those those that require a response. During the morning rush, it's hard to make decisions about book orders and it's too late to bake the 24 brownies you agreed to send in to school! Handle each piece of paper once...resist the urge to thumb through paperwork when you don't have time to write out checks or put dates on the calendar. It just creates twice as much work.
- Keep a recycling bin and calendar close to your important papers spot. Completed dittos and other busy work can go straight into the bin. Write important dates on the family calendar, then recycle those papers, too. Keep great examples of your child's work (a large bin under their bed is a great depository for this kind of thing) and classroom papers with key info: regular schedules, long-term projects, etc. Every week's newsletter may not need to be saved. Ask yourself, "Can I get this information somewhere else if I recycle this piece of paper?"
- Complete book orders, permission slips, etc. as they come in, rather than waiting until the due date. Your child's teachers will appreciate it and it will help you stick to the one paper, "one touch" rule.
- Post menus inside a kitchen cabinet door for easy access.
- When your "must keep" important papers pile up, put them in a three-ring binder for future reference.
Do you have another time management/family organization problem that needs suggestions? Write to us!
- H.V.
Out and about:
Create a Kitchen Command Center
